Earlier this year, I wrote a post about how much my life had transformed in one year since becoming an entrepreneur…
Which touched upon something which I had yet to experience – traveling the world.
In that post, I wrote the following:
I had never thought about leaving California, much less America.
From what everyone had ever told me, America was the best place in the world to live.
“The girls are the most beautiful!”
“They’re independent!”
“They don’t care what you think!”
“They can’t cook so you can eat out all the time!”
“They LOVE cats!”
My eyes have been opened recently to travel.
I have no evidence besides the words of others, but I’ve realized I must see the world and see what else is out there.
I just booked my first trip to Europe last week – a week each in Poland and Czech Republic.
(this has changed, see below for full itinerary)
As of writing this, my trip is less than three weeks away.
The weeks leading up to this trip are beginning to feel very much like the moments right before I stepped on stage for my first live guitar performance.
Truthfully, my emotions are all over the place, like a hamster spinning wildly around in its wheel.
While I couldn’t be more excited to finally begin my adventure, there is one emotion that I wish would go away.
Fear.
I’m smart enough to recognize the benefits of fear though.
It means that I’m pushing myself far out of my comfort zone, into the realm of challenge and hardship.
Where blood, sweat, and tears pour down.
Where winners are made, and where men become men.
Nothing easy is ever worth doing.
I’m also smart enough to not try to deny the fact that I have my apprehensions.
Being that this is the first time out of the United States for me (apart from a cruise to the Virgin Islands and Mexico), and my first time traveling solo, it’d be silly not to.
I don’t pretend to be some alpha male who is phased by nothing.
Rather than live in denial of that, I’ve decided to write some of my fears down and how I plan to conquer them.
What If I Can’t Find My Way From The Airport?
There is very little doubt that the descent into Poland will be probably one of the most nerve wracking times of my trip.
I’ll be about to touch down in Europe for the first time, and quite frankly my Polish is rather, well, limited.
I’m sure there will be a million thoughts going through my head, such as:
- I have the right kind of currency, right?
- How do I find the baggage claim?
- How the hell do I read all these Polish signs?
- Where do I find my friend who I’m linking up with?
- How do I make sure the cabbie doesn’t rip me off?
- And, most importantly, are the girls cute?
To combat this, I’ll have a small tablet on my carry-on.
I’m a tech savvy guy, I’ll manage to get on the wireless network in the airport and find whatever information I need through there.
Truthfully, I am ecstatic to have a fellow red pill wing-man and friend meeting me in Poland from the UK.
It will make the first country I visit much less intimidating to have someone to get lost with.
What If Lose My Passport, Phone, Credit Cards, etc?
I’m going to place the blame for my paranoia on this squarely on my grandmother.
She has been telling me for months that I need to watch out for being pick pocketed or beat up in a dark alley.
While I understand her concern, I also understand that I cannot possibly be paranoid on my entire trip – that will ruin the experience.
I plan to take precautions, and simply not be stupid (well, as not-stupid as a 22 year old can possibly be).
What does this entail?
- Not getting ridiculously drunk
- Keeping copies of everything back in the apartment
- Taking precautions to ensure pick pocketing isn’t a breeze for some smooth thief
I think my grandmother is deathly afraid I’ll be looted and won’t be able to get back to the United States.
But hell, I suppose there are worse things than being stuck on the beaches of Barcelona.
Okay, My Sense Of Direction Sucks – I’m Going To Get Lost
I’ve come to terms that at some point I’ll likely be very, very lost.
Not the fun kind of lost when you’re exploring a new area, but genuinely lost with no idea how to find where you need to be.
I suspect it will be while I’m in Rome and all of the architecture begins to look the same to me after a day or two.
When this likely happens, I’m going to take a deep breathe and calmly remind myself that this is ALL part of the adventure.
The experience.
There will be no panic, just rational thought.
Fortunately, I’m sure there will be cute girls around to point me in the right direction.
It’s a good thing I conquered approach anxiety a long time ago.
The Fear Of Not Having A Plan
I’m a very by the book kind of guy.
However, I have come to the realization that at some point in this trip, I need to just wing it and go with the flow.
Hence, I haven’t made any travel arrangements to get from Rome to Prague (where I depart to come back to the States).
I’m either going to grab a last minute flight or take an overnight train with a stop in Vienna or Zurich.
The idea of winging it makes me a bit nervous, but I’m determined to have freedom of any obligations at some points during this trip.
I Fear I Will Dread Coming Back
My life here in the US is great.
I have a good job, live in a great city, and have a beautiful girlfriend.
But what if life on the other side of the pond is really a lot better?
Will I be fully dreading walking back into the office on the day I’m due back at work?
What if my girlfriend pales in comparison to European girls I meet?
Will this be the final nail in the coffin of my American dream?
I don’t have the answers to these questions.
I’m sure I will find the answers to them… at some point during or after my trip.
One thing is for damn sure though: I’ll have zero regrets.
